The return of a BWS liquor store is just one of the new details revealed for a luxury apartment complex preparing for construction at the old Sorrento Plaza site.
The demolition of the old site which contained White Salt Cafe, Voyage Kitchen, Il Pirata, a BWS liquor store, West Coast Yoga and Primus Home Loans was recently completed in March.
The area is now being prepared for construction of the Ora Sorrento apartments, which is expected to start in early May.
The seven-storey development by boutique property developer Megara will bring 73 luxury apartments to the foreshore, along with community facilities including four restaurant/cafes and the return of a BWS liquor store.
“BWS are coming back into the site, that was part of the original agreement,” Megara director Jamie Clarke said.
“We’re planning to get White Salt (cafe) back in there; there’s still some negotiations to be completed with them.
“We’re looking for other hospitality operators as well so there’ll be a number of venues within that ground floor.”
Mr Clarke said the site was a neat acquisition and had drawn interest from the local community.
“There’s very few locations along the entire Perth coastline that are available for development; it’s typically concentrated and along Sorrento there’s not a lot of locations where you can build these types of projects,” he said.
“Probably 80 to 90 per cent of our buyers would be from within a 5km radius, so it’s really attracted a very local community.
“I think there had also been a realisation from the community that it (Sorrento Plaza) was a very old and rundown site.“
While prices are listed as starting from $1.25m for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom residence, Mr Clarke said the injection of 76 apartments could have a flow-on affect in the area to boost housing supply and diversity.
Mr Clarke said the Ora would cater to coastal lovers looking to downsize while having access to high-end amenities such as a gym, steam room and sauna.
“It’s a project we’ve been working on for three years. Once you get to this stage of a project, it becomes very real and very exciting,” he said.
“Getting anything to the construction stage in the current market is a challenge. Being one of the small number of projects that are actually under construction is a great achievement by the team and certainly a significant milestone.”
The project is expected to be completed in mid-2026 and is one of two major projects now under way for the developer, with another under construction in North Fremantle.